Shloka 30
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 54 — Missile-Exchange and Tactical Redirection
Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa
यह देख कर्णने भी अर्जुनपर मेघकी भाँति बहुत-से बाणोंकी झड़ी लगा दी। इसी प्रकार किरीटमाली अर्जुनने भी अपने तीखे सायकोंसे कर्णको ढँक दिया ।। तयो: सुतीक्षणान् सृजतो: शरौघान् महाशरीौघास्त्रविवर्धने रणे । रथे विलग्नाविव चन्द्रसूर्योी घनान्तरेणानुददर्श लोक:,इस प्रकार जहाँ राशि-राशि बाणोंद्वारा भीषण मार-काट मची हुई थी, उस रफणक्षेत्रमें वे दोनों वीर अत्यन्त तीक्ष्ण शरसमूहोंकी बौछार कर रहे थे। लोगोंने देखा, वे रथपर बैठे हुए बाणसमूहके भीतरसे इस प्रकार प्रकाशित हो रहे हैं, मानो बादलोंके भीतरसे सूर्य और चन्द्रमा चमक रहे हों
tayoḥ sutīkṣṇān sṛjatoḥ śaraughān mahāśaraughāstravivardhane raṇe | rathe vilagnāv iva candrasūryau ghanāntareṇānudadarśa lokaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As Karṇa and the diademed Arjuna rained down torrents of razor-sharp arrows upon one another, the battle swelled into a great contest of missile-weapons and dense volleys. In that dreadful field, people beheld the two heroes on their chariots shining from within the mass of arrows—like the sun and the moon gleaming through a bank of clouds.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of martial glory: the heroes appear radiant and almost celestial, yet their brilliance is seen through—and partly obscured by—the storm of weapons they themselves create. It invites reflection on how valor and violence can be aesthetically exalted while remaining ethically weighty.
Karṇa and Arjuna exchange intense volleys of sharp arrows. The battlefield becomes a dense cloud of missiles, and spectators perceive the two warriors shining from within that arrow-storm like the sun and moon visible through clouds.